


Six Thousand Feet Under

by Serenity_Midnight



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I just realized the mutant reader tag was for Marvel oops taking that off now but it still applies, Just in a frisk like position, Multi, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader Needs a Hug, Reader is a forced Human/Monster hybrid, Reader uses female pronouns, Reader-Insert, Writer Needs A Hug Too, You gotta read to find out more about that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-04 09:46:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11552592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serenity_Midnight/pseuds/Serenity_Midnight
Summary: You are __, a sweet young orphan under the care of an older couple. When a strange man in a suit comes to "Adopt" you, you're ecstatic! You're going to have a real fami-"..Papa Joe? Momma Betty? What was that loud bang? Why are the walls red? Are they sleeping?" Questions galore as the man loads everyone in the orphanage into a sleek black van. That was the end of any normal life you were going to have.You are __, a kind young lady, despite the things you have been through."Nobody will love you like we do," the doctors say."Leave and they will kill you. Everyone will. I will," the Keeper says.You had cat ears, a tail, misshapen hands and feet, and very long, sharp fangs. The more prominent things you could hide, but you'd need custom shoes and gloves, but that's not totally out of the ordinary.Right?Pushing your doubts aside, you fled the horrible people keeping you trapped in the home, grabbing a long coat and a hat to hide yourself, climbing a mountain right next to the place. You hide in a cave, but when they find you..You fall.





	1. Once Upon A Time

**Author's Note:**

> If you're reading this, congratulations! You clicked on my story. Whether it's a good thing or not is up to you but I hope to god that's a good thing. 
> 
> Aaaaanyway, I did say i wanted to put this up a while ago, but I never had the chance to...
> 
> That changes now. Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You break out, and fall down a hole.

You lie down on the bench like asked, before being strapped in. The "treatment" is supposed to help you be more normal, but you know for a fact it doesn't work. You go in the room, determined to say something, but you never get a chance to. They pump something into your blood that makes you feel strong, but it makes you very lethargic.

After this process is finished, they put you under, knocking you out so you can rest while they do more examinations. You saw the security tapes a few times, though. They take a tube, put it over your chest, and force out a pale, misshapen, purple cartoon heart.

The first time you saw the tapes, before you started growing the extra set of ears and furry tail, it was brighter, and you knew for sure it was a heart shape. It had little swirls of green in it, faint but there. They still are, but they're not as noticeable. Now it looks like a lavender, bent oval shape, with faint little swirls of light green flowing around it as if they were rivers on the Earth. ..If the water was green and the land lavender, anyway.

After this, they send you to your bedroom and you eat, then sleep. Taking you to and from that test room is the only time you leave it. You think your room is closer to the exit then the testing place is, and the people seem to be less whenever they take you back, because you look more lethargic. Yes, it does drain you, but recently the feeling of being stronger is more then the feeling of not wanting to do anything.

Today is the day.

As they take you back to your room, once you're in front of the door, you keep walking.

"Hey __, your room's over here," One doctor calls. You ignore them in favor of continually walking, pretending to have a dazed, in thought look on your face.

"__! Come here!" Another yells. It's angry. You keep walking, until you reach the elevator. You know how to work this.. Generally. It needs a code.

"I wanna see the rest of the home," you say. Everyone calls this p!ace the home.

"D- Do you promise you'll be good?" A nervous voice says. You don't even bother trying to distinguish them anymore. You smile, bearing your new sharp fangs in the warmest smile you can give.

"I promise," you say, looking over at the woman standing below you. You're taller then most of the people working here, around 6' 5" or so. It feels like whatever they pump into you makes you taller for some reason, or maybe you're just naturally tall. You're not sure and at the moment you don't care. It makes you intimidate a little easier.

The woman tells you to close your eyes while she puts in the code, and you close them enough to make them look that way, but you can still see a little. She's also whispering the code to herself, and that doesn't help her cause. You have super sensitive cat ears after all.

"Seven, four, six, nine, two," the woman whispers. You make a mental note of where the buttons are, and the code, replaying it in your head. Most likely the exit door will need the same code. You smile as you both step into the elevator.

"Which floor do you want to see first?" The woman asks. You press the button for the lobby, and she looks startled. "No no, you can't go there.. Oh, anywhere else but there.."

You grin as the doors slide open. A few people look at you, startled. Visitors look at you scared. You grab the woman's lab coat and baseball cap, putting them on despite her frustrated look. It hides your tail well enough, and you step out. She stops you.

"Let's g- go somewhere else, y- yeah?" She appears to beg, but you shove her off. You don't want to hurt her, but you'll do what you have to so you can leave. You start jogging forward, and the security guards start getting involved. They pull you back away from the exit, and you growl.

"I wanna see the outside! Lemme see it!" You whine. It's been years since you've even seen any colours other then black, white, beige, red and lavender. The bright, cheerful lobby still has you off guard. They loosen their grip slightly and you yank away, moving in a full-on sprint, way faster then you should be.

The guards can't even keep up as you punch the code in, then bolt out the door towards the hills. You leap over the wire fencing and keep running, speeding towards a mountain. You can hide out there.

You slip into a cave, listening to the sounds of people behind you. You look down a large pit as they come closer. A gap in the cave's ceiling lets in sunlight to allow a patch of golden flowers to grow. It's very, very far down, however.

Suddenly, the guards find you, and you look at your options. Sure death.. Or eternal torture with this "Treatment" they give you.

You want neither, but gravity chose for you as you got too close to the edge. The rocks give way and you fall.

The sun becomes clouded over at that moment, refusing to let them see your death.

And you keep falling, passing out on the way down.

Your body hits the soft ground and flowers with a quiet thud.

A voice you don't recognise keeps telling you to keep persevering.

And so you do.

You don't die.

You PERSEVERE.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooooh this is gonna be fun!
> 
> The next chapters will be longer, this is just kind of an introduction to everything.
> 
> I'm going to guess this is.. Around a year before Frisk falls? From the same lab maybe, just not as far along the process as you are? Ideas are swirling around everywhere and I cannot help but ramble.


	2. Your Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have a best friend now. 
> 
> And a mother.
> 
> You've always wanted a mother.

You wake up a little while later, confused at your surroundings. This isn't the home... Oh. Wait.

You got out of there and fell down a hole. You landed badly on your tail and you might have broken a finger, but you're okay otherwise. Somehow. You sit up, minding the tail, before grabbing the lab coat and the hat.

You stand, wrapping your tail carefully in your shorts, you didn't have the chance to last time, before looking around. You fell a very, very long ways. You should be dead.

But you aren't.

There's a doorway down a corridor, and you head towards it. It bears some sort of symbol above the doorway. You step through, and a much larger flower is poking out above the grass, facing away from you. A low voice mumbles something, coming from that direction. You don't notice the fact that the coat is slipping off of you, or how your tail is slowly sliding out of your shorts again.

The flower perks up a moment, after you take a step closer. You tilt your head, and it turns. You jump in the air, hat nearly flying off. An ear keeps it barely in place, but your tail slips out of your shorts. It's fine as long as nobody is behind you. You're more transfixed on this face flower.

"Oh? What's this? A human, eh? Been a long time since one of you guys came around.." It says. You narrow your eyes. You aren't sure what you are anymore, but you feel more like a civilised animal then a human at this point.

"Oh silly me. I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower! You're new to the Underground, right?" It asks. You nod, putting yourself in a less curious stance and more of a defensive one. You have no idea if you should be trusting.. You know, a flower... It sounds silly so you lessen your defensiveness again.

"Yeah. I am. I'm __, nice to meet you," you say. Flowey perks up again as if you're the brightest sun in the universe. It's kinda strange, the way he looks at you. As if he needs something from you.

"Well golly! I suppose someone oughta teach you how things work around here! I suppose little old me will have to do!" It says. It winks at you, sticking it's tongue out.

Suddenly everything goes black and white. It startles you enough to start spinning around, and then you glare at the flower. You flick your tail in annoyance and your coat falls off, exposing your pink and (F/C) striped tank top, and your tail. Flowey looks at you in surprise, then grins. It's kinda creepy.

"Well.. You.. You're a freak, aren't you? Not monster or human. What a life you must have had," it says. You sigh, fully facing him. You now notice the lavender lump following you, in front of your chest. It pulses like a human heart, but it shivers and stutters occasionally. It was once so pretty, but.. Whatever they put into you changed it forever.

"You don't even know what that is, do you?" Flowey breaks you from your angry thoughts, putting you into a better state of mind again. You think on it a moment, and you shake your head.

"Of course. Humans don't seem to be able to summon their own Souls, after all... Oh, that's your Soul! The very culmination of your being! ..It suits your physical state better then it should, honestly," Flowey explains, all the while you look it over.

"You're lucky you fell down here with it in this state. It looks so weak and frail, it wouldn't be any use to us..." It says. You silently wonder what it means by that, but you push it aside in favor of a slightly less important matter, but one you would prefer to address anyway. You stuff your tail back into your shorts and fix your hat.

"So like.. Are we friends then? I don't.. Know how this whole thing works," You say, catching the flower off guard slightly. It does smile after a moment, though.

"I suppose we are. You know what? I'm gonna be your new best friend! I'll follow you around, give you some advice... I'm afraid you're just as stuck down here as we are, though," Flowey says. The world returns to color as your Soul retreats from the musty air. It looks startled, turning around, and it speaks before you have a chance to ask what it means. You slide on your lab coat absentmindedly.

"Oh jeez, here comes that goat lady. Toriel, i think. I gotta go. Call me when you need me!" Flowey says, before disappearing into the ground. The goat lady rushes over to you, checking you over.

"My child, are you alright? That flower did not hurt you, did he? Oh dear, I knew I should have come to check on the commotion sooner.." She fusses over you, kneeling in front of you and picking at sticks and dirt that managed to get stuck on your clothes. She looks very tall, standing at about 7 feet or so, but you're taller then her when she kneels like this. About the same counting the horns.

"I- I'm fine, really. Just an injured finger or two," you say, as she takes your hand in hers. Your hands aren't normal for humans, but they look a lot like this goat lady's hands. Paws? You aren't sure what to call them. You thought goats had hooves..

"I see. Well, as long as you are fine.. Oh, I have not introduced myself yet, have I?" She stands, stepping back a bit. Her feet are also just like yours, but a little bigger. The nails are also a bit more like claws. She wears a long, purple and white dress of sorts, bearing the same symbol you noticed on the door.

"I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through here every day to check for fallen humans, but.. You do not seem like one. Your Soul does not have that strong power a normal human Soul has. I could have mistook you for simply being a Boss Monster. I.. Take it that Flowey has explained this already, yes?" She introduces herself, explaining a few things, but raising more questions. She spoke too fast for you to really get a word in.

"Well, you talk fast.. First, I'm __, nice to meet you, what is a Boss Monster, and Flowey explained some basics," you say. She nods and holds out her hand once more.

"I will explain once we return to my home. Come now, I will guide you through the Ruins." She says. You look at her face to her hand, then take it. She guides you to another door with a bunch of gigantic buttons to the side. Everywhere you look is a magenta colour, but.. You like it.

Your Soul was once this shade.

"The Ruins are filled with puzzles. This one is much like a giant lock, but I solved this one a moment ago. Come along," Toriel explains. You nod in understanding and she pulls you along.

"You seem like a bright child! There is another puzzle in this room. I wonder if you can solve it," She explains, standing on the edge of a bridge. A lever is marked on one wall, and you look it over before flicking it.

"Good! There is one more switch you need to flip. It is one of these two," Toriel says, moving to in front of.. A patch of spikes? Who uses spikes in puzzles!? You walk over to the other marked switch and flick it. The spikes lower and you can't help but feel proud of yourself. You haven't had the chance to do much with yourself, after all..

"Wonderful! You will do well here, my child," Toriel says, before taking your hand once more. Ahead is another room. This one, though...

It's full of spikes, with a large yet shallow most around it. It probably goes up to your knees.

"Here is the next puzzle, but.. I'm not comfortable letting you near the spikes. You.. You're a smart child, though, you'll figure it out," Toriel says, standing to one side. You lean over the spikes, touching one. The whole group of four goes down, and you start. You are NOT comfortable with this. So instead, you look out into the water. You pull your coat up some and start wading through it, to the other end. At least this way you can sneak around the spikes.

"My! I don't think.. You truly think outside the box, don't you? Or maybe outside of the puzzle," she says, chuckling.

...Was that a pun?

"Why yes my child, it was," Toriel says, giggling at you. You said that out loud? Hm. You step out of the water and onto the solid, purple ground. Toriel walks right across the spike floor as if it was nothing, and soon you both have reached a long corridor.

"You have done well thus far, my child. But.. I am truly sorry for this," She says, and she starts running! Why is she running? What's behind you!? You bolt after her, panic setting in. She hides behind a lone pillar and you duck to join her, still as a statue.

"What was behind us..?" You whisper over to her. She says nothing. After a few minutes pass, you dare to peek out from behind the pillar. When you see nothing, you sigh in relief. You gesture to her that it's safe to come out, and you step towards the exit. She flings herself in front of you, and you stop, your bare foot sliding on the loose soil. Your tail comes loose from your pants again and you keep it as straight as you can to keep Toriel from seeing it.

"Do not worry my child, it was only an exercise. I needed to test your independence. ..You did somewhat well," she says. An exercise? Independence? You keep your mouth shut dispite the questions in your head. "I need to take care of a few things, and I need you to stay here while I am away."

That explains a few things.

"I wanted to give you a cell phone, to help us stay in touch. This is a very old one, I have kept it for years. I used it for a while but it was too small for my hands." You thought those were hands, so you called them that. You were right. "Here. I have already inputted my number, so you can call me if you need me. Please be good, alright?" Toriel explains. She hands you a very old cell phone, a flip phone with a black and white screen and a backlight. It feels good to hold, though.

It's the first time you've ever been given something you truly liked like this.

It's a warm feeling, one you've never felt before.

You wanted it to stay.

"I promise. I'm just going to be sitting up against that pillar messing around with my new phone. Or old phone. Your phone? I don't know what to call this. My phone. ..Yeah. It's my own phone," you stumble across your words a bit, but Toriel smiles. She hugs you and leaves, and you sit up against the pillar, fiddling with your phone like you said you would.

...Your phone...

You like it here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say I'd upload the second chapter! And it's actually shorter then I intended it to be, but I'm kinda stricken right now. It's probably going to be a few days before I can really get back into writing.
> 
>  
> 
> *Rest in peace, Chester Bennington. 
> 
> *You, and Linkin Park both have a place in my soul forever.


	3. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get tired and bored, and Flowey leads you to Toriel's house.
> 
> You have to explain a few things to Toriel, and it brings up bad memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you guys know, this chapter has some pretty intense stuff happening towards the end. It's kinda graphic, but it's not complete scenes of it, just moments. If you're squeamish you should probably avoid the scenes entirely in italics. Reader says what happens after them anyway, so it's not a huge deal, but again, squeamish? Skip. Thank you for reading!

After a while, you find yourself very tired. You aren't sure how long you were fiddling with your phone, maybe an hour, but you still find yourself drifting slowly. You wonder when Toriel is coming back. But, anyway, your phone. Your legitimately awesome phone.

It has a lot of buttons, more then a regular home phone. The very bottom row does nothing, possibly to be modified in some way. The row above that holds a button with a suitcase on it. It opens some sort of storage area where you seem to be able to put small items in, and I make them out. You can also look them over to see what they do in this menu.

Next to that is a call button. It pulls up a menu of your contacts, which currently only contains Toriel. You seem to be able to text from here, too, but Toriel hasn't replied. You suspect her current phone doesn't have this feature, or something along those lines.

The one next to that has a grocery bag of some sort on it, and it takes you to a page where you can select to either download apps, or to use current ones. It has a few things already installed, including a game called Tetris you've been playing for a while now.

The four rows above that have numbers, and little letters in the corner. Typing this way is difficult but it works, and the 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8 buttons double as arrow keys. One more row above seems to be power and volume buttons.

The phone itself is a black and silver color, and it flips closed. There's even a camera on the front, but the pictures are pixelated and in black and white. Not even gray just black and white. It does a great job at making things recognizable, though. You ended up taking a full-body picture of yourself to see how you looked. It looked just like you, but you had a sad, maybe angry look. You blamed it on the way the pixels drew your face.

But now, as you find your eyes forcing themselves closed while you stare at the phone.. Your phone, it rings and brings you out of your drowsiness. You look at the number and you don't recognize it, but you assume it's Toriel on someone else's phone, so you answer it. You were wrong.

"Hi, c- can I g- get a large p-pepperoni w- with anchovies p- please?" A stuttery, nervous voice answers. It sounds female but you can't properly tell in your sleepy state. You force down a yawn as you reply.

"I'm sorry, I kinda dunno how to make pizza," you reply. The voice on the other end panics a bit as they realize they called the wrong number.

"O- Ohmygosh I- I'm so sorry, I m- must have c- called the wrong n- number," they say. They start playing some upbeat music and singing, but you interrupt.

"You don't need to sing me a song, it's fine! Just remember to look the number over next time, okay?" You say. The voice expresses their gratitude to your kindness, says goodbye and hangs up. You wonder if you should call Toriel now. It has been a while...

You decide you haven't talked to Flowey in longer, so you call him (?) instead. You make sure Toriel hasn't suddenly appeared, then you start calling him. "Flowey? ...Flowey!?"

"I'm here! What is it?" Your best friend pops out of the ground, looking slightly worried. You jump as he says this, not expecting him to be there so quickly, but you smile anyway.

"I just wanted to talk to someone. Toriel is taking a while, and I'm getting sleepy," you explain. Flowey's face softens a bit and he seems very surprised. You aren't sure why, though.

"Oh. Well, I can always guide you to her house if you need it," he says. You stand carefully, minding your injured tai-

. . .

Oh god no.

Toriel might have seen your tail during that hug.

What would she say? Why didn't she say anything before she left? Can she tell your Soul is messed up and she wasn't surprised that way? Did she even see it? Would she leave you to die like they said she would have on the surface..?

Flowey seemed to notice your sudden distress, and somehow summons a vine from the ground to grip your hand. It pulls you out of your darkening thought process and you shoot him a look of silent thanks. He nods his flower head and replies with a silent "What are friends for?"

"Y- Yeah, let's go see her," you finally say. Flowey nods again, before popping into the ground. He reappears ahead of the exit of the room. You gather yourself, hide your tail in your shorts, and pocket your phone.

"Come on. It's this way," he says. You quickly follow. Looking around, there's a lot of leaves. Somehow. A room to your left contains some candy. You pick out a few (despite the sign next to it saying only one, Flowey encouraged you to take multiple because they heal you) and head to the right.

The next puzzles include large drops, and you learned that the hard way. The ground ahead of you was cracked, and you assumed it was because of dehydration and stepped ahead. But the ground underneath you fell almost as soon as you touched it, and you hit your head a little on the way down, and further injure your tail. You might have really hurt your foot, too, but you walk it off pretty easily.

"You idiot! You could get killed doing that! Let me take care of the puzzles from now on," Flowey scolded you as you climbed the tube.

"Don't scold me, I've already learned my lesson with that.." You groan, pushing yourself out of the tube. Flowey is by your side instantly, and you continue on, with him popping in and out of the ground to keep up. You're honestly glad he can move at all, otherwise you'd need a plant pot, and you aren't sure he'd like that. He stops moving ahead a moment, looking over at you with a confused expression. You stop and turn to him, kneeling down to his level.

"Why do you hide them? Your.. Tail and ears, I mean?" He asks after a moment. You avert your gaze, trying to figure out how to explain this to him.

"It.. It's not normal for humans to have two sets of ears and a tail. I was told that.. That whoever I met and showed t- the extra ears and the tail, that.. They would hate me. Try to kill me. Take me back to.. That p- place.. Look, I'm sorry, Flowey, but.. I can't talk about this. It brings up.. Really, really bad memories. Ones I want to f- forget. ..Okay?" You explain to the best of your ability. It's difficult, but Flowey seems to understand the subject is touchy and you change it.

"Let's.. Keep moving," you say, and Flowey happily agrees.

* * *

 

Puzzle after puzzle, encounter after encounter (The "Monsters," you learned they were called, here are very kind, but it takes a little effort to make them stop fighting you) and step after step later, you reach another cross paths. To your left, there's some sort of gateway with a dead tree in front of it, and ahead of you is a corner. You assume the left is a more residential area, but you head towards the cornered area. It's a small room, with a Froggit in the corner, next to another door.

"Ribbit, ribbit," It says. Flowey pops out of the ground and translates.

"She says she saw Toriel come through here a minute ago, carrying tons of groceries. She didn't ask what they were for, because everyone is.. Pretty afraid of her," He says. Oh, she. Okay. How she managed to fit all of that into two ribbits is beyond you.

"Alright, thank you for letting me know," You say, and she nods as you walk into the next room.

And wow..

This was a giant city once, painted purple and standing tall.

But now, it's just a bunch of crumbling buildings. Some still look lived in, however, but most are down to rubble. There's a set of stairs to the right, but you decide not to go down there for now. Maybe if you can't find Toriel's house.

You gape at the view for a moment, taking a picture on your phone, before returning and turning to the left path. And sure enough, a house stands there. Without a door. You don't complain, it seems like it'd always be a nice temperature here. It's such a cute and tidy house, more well preserved then anything else here. You knock on the frame and enter. You mean, they don't have a door, they must not mind people coming in to take a rest. And maybe some food. But mainly a rest. Flowey looks nervous.

"Hmm? Who is there?" A voice you recognize very well at this point calls. Flowey starts and ducks into the ground.

"T- Toriel? It's __," You call back, ensuring your tail is hidden again, and straightening your cap.

"My child! Oh dear, I knew I should have come to get you sooner.. Are you alright?" She says, rushing to hug you again. You are caught in the middle of straightening your lab coat, unable to return the hug, so you instead lean into it.

"I'm fine, I swear. You're kinda squishing me, though.." You manage, and she lets go of you instantly.

"Oh, my apologies! Come, I have something to show you," She says, and takes your hand. You follow. You can feel your tail slipping, but you need both hands to fix it. You stop in front of a door.

"It's your very own room! I do hope you enjoy it," she says, and she rubs the top of your head lovingly. Your tail finally slips out as you purr into the petting, much like a cat. Toriel notices something, and takes.. Off.. Your hat...

Your ears perk up and your tail flicks in surprise.

"Oh my.. When did humans develop tails? And a second pair of ears? My child, why did you hide these from me?" She says. So she didn't see your tail before, okay, but you have an issue now.

"I- I um.. I'll explain in a minute, just.. Let me get more comfortable clothes on, okay?" You try to bide your time. Thankfully she allows it, and you head into your- ..The bedroom. You have no idea if she'll kick you out after this or not. You hope to whatever god that exists not, but..

You're scared now.

Absolutely terrified.

You force it down and examine the room a bit more. There's a closet full of various color striped sweaters and a few pants and shorts. A few robes similar to Toriel's are also in there, and you pick one out. You change, noting the circular marks on your chest from when they forced out what you now understand is your Soul. The lacerations everywhere from when you didn't behave, along with new cuts and brushes from the battles you've gone through recently.

Your face changed a bit too, you realized as you looked in a mirror. You have extremely thin, yet sturdy whiskers on your upper lip, and it's dented in slightly down the center. Your fangs are longer, and your eyes seem to have tilted slightly and gain a purple hue in the center. You aren't sure when that happened, but it scares you.

Changing your body is what the Treatment did, but you aren't receiving it anymore. Is there something similar in the air? Is that why the people- "Monsters," down here are all.. Strange? Like.. Monsters?

Like you, but further along?

You take a deep breath and slip on the robe. It's just your size. You fold up your old clothes, grabbing a pair of slippers from the box of shoes (There wasn't a pair of them in your odd size, so you picked a size larger) and step outside. Toriel is waiting on an arm chair, reading a book. She looks up at you when she hears you enter, and sighs, putting the book down and taking off her glasses. She adjusts herself to face you more as you walk up to her, and you sit on your knees, your tail making itself known under the robes. You can feel your ears are folded back.

"My child, please look at me. Tell me why you hid this from me?" She asks. You look up at her and begin your long, _long_ explanation. She listens intently and you begin.

"I.. Well, you need the whole story, first. When I was really young-"

_The smell of burning flesh, hair, and wood overwhelms you. Your mother is getting you out the window when a crackling support beam falls on her back, breaking her spine with a sickening "SNAP!"_

_You run across the roof, trying to get down, and you see your father's smoldering body through a melting window. You are mainly unscathed, other then your hair catching fire. You're quickly able to put it out as you wail. Your parents were screaming in pain as they died._

_You were only three and a half years old, barely able to walk, and you were bolting down the roof to get away from the flames. You land safely in a firefighter's arms as you cry about your parents._

_"Shh, it's okay, you're safe now. We're going to take you to somewhere else, okay? Shh, shh, you're safe now."_

_But you knew you weren't safe. Your parents were dead. What was going to happen to you?_

"..My parents died in a major house fire when I was about four. They.. Screamed. A lot. It's.. Scarred me. Not physically, but mentally. ..After that, I was taken to an orphanage. Really nice people, Momma Betty and Papa Joe. They were older, in their sixties I think, when they.."

_You and all the other kids were playing with Legos in the playroom, when you hear the front door open. You, being the average seven-year-old orphan you were, you were curious to see what was going on. You tell the others you'll be right back and go to see what the commotion was about, when-_

**_BANG! BANG! BANG!_ **

_Gunshots, you feared. The other kids are crying about the loud noise, or simply wondering what it was. The older kids gasped and tried to wrangle everyone together, hiding them away and in a closet, but you slip free to investigate._

_Papa Joe and Mama Betty's heads were splattered on the wall, and you're just wondering when they decided to start painting it red, and why they're napping on the floor. The man in a suit asked you where the others were, that you were being adopted, and you were ecstatic! You happily showed him to the closet, where everyone was playing "Hide and Seek" you thought, and a few more suited men came inside and loaded you all up into a large van._

_It took a long time before you saw the outside again._

"They were shot and we were kidnapped. I was naive and thought that they started painting the walls red and decided to take a nap, and that everyone else hiding in the closet were playing Hide and Seek in one spot. They told us we were being adopted, and.. I guess we were, kind of. Adopted by a bunch of scientists and doctors in an illegal testing facility? ..Anyway, they took us to what we were told to call 'The Home' and.. Well, tested on us."

You force down the worst of the memories. The ones you have of the Home. Toriel is still listening intently as ever, making surprised, sad, and even angry expressions while you talk. You try to focus on her face to keep yourself grounded.

"I don't know what happened to the others after that. But I was told that I would never be loved again, once I started growing the extra ears and tail, from.. Whatever they put into me. They would take out my Soul after.. The treatment, and it started becoming deformed. Broken. I remember the first time I saw a recording if it. It was so pretty, bright royal purple with swirls of lime green, and it actually looked like a heart. Now it's just.. Sad, deformed, pale and broken," you explain. That's all you can remember, or rather all you will remember. You refuse to go any deeper at this point.

"..My child, I am so sorry you have gone through this.. I cannot imagine what it must be like. But.. I have one more question right now. ..May I see your Soul?" She asks. You are caught off guard by this, but you agree. She presses a gentle hand to your collarbone, and there's a quiet _"Pop!"_ as your Soul is released. She gasps in horror. You look at it more intently, and it seems like it has straightened a little bit more then when you first saw it, when you met Flowey. This must be around the time you'd get the Treatment, and it's trying to prepare for it, you imagine.

"__, you truly are a miracle, are you not? You should not be alive. Your Soul is so mangled and broken, and yet it keeps persisting. Even your body has changed to better accommodate it. It is.. Wonderful. There will never be another Soul like yours, my child, but please. Do not believe you will not be loved only because you are different. This- Your Soul is strong, but it is not human anymore. You will fit in well here, even if you look human at first glance. You are turning into a Monster. Be proud of this, my child, because it may never happen to anyone else," She says. The words she uses shocks you for a moment, but your Soul hovers to the side and you hug her. "This is your home now, my child. You may stay here as long as you wish."

. . .

Wait.

She's not turning you away.

She's letting you stay here.

_You have a home now._

You cry in her arms for a while, before you eventually feel your Soul pop back into you from the side. After this, you fall asleep in her arms. Her kind and loving words echo in your dreams.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohmygosh this took a while. Over three thousand words, this is what I was planning to put out last chapter, but I just couldn't write more. My hands hurt like hell and my brain wants to go kurplunk right here and now but HERE! Have some words! 
> 
> Also i'm sorry about the flashbacks, but they were essential to the story at that point in time. Reader was on the verge of crying most of that, and if I were in her position I probably would be, too. I just hope i grammared good enough for chapter to be readable.


	4. Flowey the.. Teacher?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet a man through a door, and Flowey explains to you much more about Souls.
> 
> Who knew flowers made such great teachers?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must admit i'm genuinely surprised this has already passed the 10 kudos mark! It.. Might not sound like much, compared to some with 10k PLUS kudos, but it's really nice to know people read this story and enjoy it. About one in nine people who have read this have given it a Kudos and it's actually a pretty large ratio. Bigger then i would have expected, and i'm just happy anyway right now, so here. Have a chapter now that I have internet again.

* * *

You and Toriel are tending to the flowers at the very beginning of the ruins, making sure they grow back well. It's been two weeks or so since you fell, and in that time you learned that almost every inhabitant of the Underground looks different. Families usually look similar, though. It's nice to know you will be accepted across the Underground, no matter what you look like.

You do wonder, however, why there's only golden flowers in this part of the ruins. And.. How they broke your fall. You passed out about halfway down, you remember. After all this has happened, you should be dead. But you aren't.

You sigh as you weed the flowers with Toriel, deep in your thoughts. She looks over at you solemnly. You've been doing this often, and you imagine the goat woman is worried.

"_, what is wrong? You have been so deep in your thoughts you have dug a hole in the ground," She says, and you snap out of your thought process. Yes, you have managed to dig a small hole in the ground, about six inches deep or so. You cover it back up and apologize.

"Sorry, this is just.. A lot to take in. After.. After all that they said, you still took me in, and I'm just.. Wondering what they'd think if they saw you, I suppose," You say. It's not the full truth, but you don't want to get into this on such a nice day. You can hear birds singing from the cave entrance, and the flowers are in full bloom. Toriel nods and leaves it be.

You have also noticed, once you told her how old you are (at least, generally..) that she had stopped calling you child. She has also given you a few more robes and taken the striped sweaters out of your closet. You assume it's a Monster thing for children to wear stripes but not adults. You never questioned it.

As the two of you finish, Toriel seems troubled as well, as if she was having issues deciding on something. You don't want to push, either, so you just put the weeds in a bag and put it to the side. You stand, minding your tail.

".._, would you like to see the basement? I have someone I wish for you to meet. He is also excited to meet you, but you must promise me something beforehand," She finally says as you look up at the setting sun's final rays. You look over at her and she seems nervous and sad.

"..Okay, what do you need me to promise?" You ask. She sighs and kneels to you. You tower over her this way, but she doesn't seem to mind.

"I must have you promise me that you will not go down there without my permission, and that you never go through the door, unless... Well, if you are in danger, you may flee that way, but do not go far," She says. Your eyes widen a little, but you nod.

"I promise, Mom. Never go through the door, never go down there without permission," you affirm, and she smiles at you. She hugs you and grabs your hand. You pass through the Ruins back home, and head down the stairs. You are surprised to see it's nothing but a hallway, leading to a small room with a door. You both pass through this one (you are surprised, but she says that this is not the door she meant) and stop in front of the last door.

You hear a knock, and you squeak in surprise, not expecting it.

"Who is there?" Toriel asks. You haven't seen her smile so much since you met her.

"ash," A deep voice, with a very slight Brooklyn accent says. You are positive it's a male, and you suspect this is who Toriel was talking about.

"Ash who?" Toriel asks. The man behind the door chuckles.

"bless you," he says. You look confused, and Toriel lets out a laugh.

Ohhh. It was a knock knock joke. You start giggling too.

"oh? this the kid you were telling me about last week?" He asks, and you stiffen, tail fur going on end.

"Oh, yes. This is.. My child. She fell about two weeks ago and has agreed to stay with me for a very long time," Toriel says.

"It's nice to meet you. Mom said you were excited to meet me, right?" You say. You almost reach out your hand to shake, but you remember you're talking either through or to a door. The latter makes you shudder a bit, but you.. Honestly wouldn't be surprised if there were door monsters at this point. Talking rocks are apparently a thing.

"yeah. lady here told me all about you last week. i mean, she did say ya liked bad puns, so you're a friend in my book," He says. ..It's true, you do love puns. Anything that'll make you laugh, keep your spirits up. You chuckle.

"Good to know I have friends beyond this door then, too- Oh! Oh oh oh I got one. Knock knock," You say, knocking on the door. He chuckles.

"who's there, kiddo?" He says. You smirk.

"Ash," you chuckle. Toriel is giggling behind her paw.

"..ash who?" He says.

"Bless you."

. . .

Toriel bursts into laughter. Guess it was even better the second time.

"ahahaha.. kid, you don't just take other people's jokes. pfft-" The man can't hold himself together, and you chuckle.

"That was the joke, that I took yours. Made you two laugh, didn't it? Heheh," You say, making a mischievous chuckle.

(*I gotta admit, you had yourself smiling at least, didn't you?)

..You don't have a clue who said that, but you agree. You assume it's the same person who keeps breaking down the south walls of the Ruins. It's not fun to keep rebuilding those.

But you spend the rest of the evening talking to the man behind the door with Toriel, and making bad jokes, until Toriel sends you up for bed. You swear you saw a glimpse of a yellow petal in the corner, but it was gone before you could get a better look. Strange. Maybe Flowey is keeping a closer eye on you then you thought.

Toriel tucks you in, but you hear the clicking of her claws going down the stairwell. You sigh and turn on your side. You can't sleep on your back comfortably because of your tail, so you're always either on your back or on your side. But, you're expecting a visit from a certain flower, and a few minutes later you see the lamp turn on, a vine pulling the cord and a flower in the floorboards.

"Hey, Flowey. How was your day?" You ask. He looks ticked off somewhat, but he hides it pretty well.

"About as normal as life as a talking flower can be. But I guess you know the feeling, huh?" He says, roots climbing up the bed frame. You learned he can do that a while ago, and it freaked you out pretty bad. You nod solemnly, sitting up.

"Well. Heard you met the smiley trashbag earlier. You three had laughter echoing all through the Ruins, probably through the whole Underground," He says, and you leer at him a bit.

"Smiley, I don't really get why you call him that yet, but he is not a trash bag. He's just a.. Punny Monster. I think. I don't really have any way to tell," you say. Flowey laughs, smirking.

"Yeah, he's a Monster all right... Agh, you have the wrong kind of Soul for me to convince you of what he is. Too kind," He says, and it makes you wonder.

"..Wrong kind of Soul?" You ask. He realises he said that aloud and a bead of sweat rolls down one of his petals. You don't really know how flowers can sweat, but you assume magic. Or maybe it's more humid here then you thought. You aren't sure.

"Ughh. Figures she hasn't explained it yet.. You know how your Soul is purple and green? Those are your Traits. Most people only have one trait, but you seem to be an exception.." Flowey starts to explain, and you nod.

"Basically, purple is Perseverance, your main trait. Indigo is Integrity, which you have quite a bit of, too, but it doesn't show. Cyan is Patience, which you have almost none of," He continues. You aren't sure how he got this from just your Soul color, but.. Whatever, you want to know.

"Green is Kindness, your secondary trait. You have almost half and half of them, but since green and purple don't mix.. At all, it's resulted in swirls. Yellow is Justice, which you also have a lot of, orange is Bravery, which you have none of, and red is the rarest, Determination. You don't have any of that, either, which isn't surprising. PS and DT don't mix well, usually cancelling each other out."

"But since your Soul is also part Monster at this point, you have much higher stats then a normal human. And from what I can tell, they keep growing. Once your Soul turns more monster you will probably learn Magic, which is also the name of a Monster's main trait. It's the reason their Souls are white, but they do have secondary traits as well. Monsters, however, never have DT Souls. Just a teaspoon can make them melt, and nobody knows why. I always suspected it's similar to how PS and DT cancel each other out, but on a much higher scale, since Monsters are made up of mainly particles of magic."

. . .

So many words, your mind cannot properly comprehend. You never did do well in school.. While you were there, anyway. Flowey looks at you, seemingly waiting for you to respond.

"Sooo... Purple is Perseverance, indigo is Integrity, cyan is Patience, green is Kindness, yellow is Justice, orange is Bravery, red is Determination which is rare, and white is Magic, a Monster's Soul. DT and PS don't mix, and DT makes Monsters melt if there's too much in their system. My soul is Perseverance and Kindness, now Magic as well, and I have undertones of Integrity and Justice. My.. Stats keep going higher, though, but what are.. Stats?" You sum up the majority of Flowey's teachings so far, and he looks somewhat pleased. You guess he likes being a teacher.

"Well, your stats are mainly ways of measuring your strength. I'm not going to lie to you this time, some of these are a little.. Dark," he says. You see him shudder a bit, and you look at him confused. He sighs, and continues to explain.

"First off is your HP. How much of a beating your Soul can take before it breaks. Surprisingly, you have much more then a normal human's. I'm honestly surprised you don't have one with how much it's been broken apart, messed with. Most humans have about 10-50 on average. Yours would be on the higher end of that scale anyway, because of your trait, but you have about 150! You are definitely going to be a Boss Monster once you learn Magic. Ah, before you ask, a Boss Monster is basically a really strong Monster. They can be tough to beat in a fight. For example, Toriel is a Boss Monster," Flowey explains. Ahh, that makes sense. You nod for him to continue.

"Next up is your Attack and Defense. I.. Haven't checked those yet, so I need to see your Soul, if you don't, uh, mind.." Flowey says. He looks mildly embarrassed, but you agree. No harm as long as he doesn't decide this is a good time to attack you. You trust him enough to keep your guard down, though, and he pops out your Soul. The world doesn't go black and white like you were expecting, since battles usually do that. This must be a safety measure or something to make sure he doesn't hurt you.

(*Flowey used Act, Check. *_, HP 175, ATK 20, DEF 60, LV ?. *She's nervous, but trusts you enough to let you do this.)

..You still have no idea who that is.

"Wow. HP went up, but your LV is.. I.. can't read the LV?" Flowey says, looking confused. You are just as confused.

"Well, we'll uh, find that out later. Anyway, Attack and Defense are just what they're called. Attack, how much damage you can do, Defense, how much damage you'll take. LV however, stands for Love. And Love, well.. It's a bad, bad kind of Love. It stands for Level of Violence. Exp, stands for Execution Points, which, I can't read that either. Maybe once your Soul is in a bit better shape," Flowey explains, and you feel a shudder from your shoulders down to your tail. Your ears have folded back a little bit, and he looks like he feels bad. He gently pats your Soul reassuringly, and it feels like your entire back was being pet. You make a strange purring noise and he mutters an apology. You chuckle nervously and call your Soul back to you.

"Sorry, uhm, forgot how sensitive Souls can be.." He mutters.

"It's fine. It was just.. Weird. Anyway, uhm, it's late, I'm gonna need to sleep. Good night, Flowey," you say, and he nods. You lean over and give him a weird side hug with your arm before he pulls himself down the bed frame and down into the crack in the floorboards. He turns off the lamp and you lie back down on your side, quickly falling asleep.

You hear the door creak open, and something being set on the floor, and it being quietly shut, as you drift.

You dream of a giant goat-like monster with a rainbow Soul, bearing wings and mechanical looking parts. He keeps attacking you and calling you Chara.

You keep dying by his attacks.

. . .

But it refused.

_But one time, it didn't refuse._

_You fall down a pit, and land on a bed of golden flowers. They wither and die under your touch, rotting to nothing. You're lifted and placed on a stretcher, then moved into a lab._

_The home, you remember._

_"You should have listened to us, _," a voice says._

_"Now you're even more broken," Comes another._

_"Now you're trapped with noooo escape."_

_"You're going to die here."_

_"Do not listen to them, _. You are wonderful," This voice is.. Different. You recognise it._

_Toriel.. Mom, you correct yourself._

_"kid, you aren't that bad... i think."_

_Very helpful, door-man._

_"_, you are unique. I've never seen anyone like you before. And I never will again, so just.. Don't listen to them, okay?"_

_Flowey, your best friend._

_But there's a new voice. One you don't know. It's deep, but.. Fatherly._

_"You cannot give up just yet... _! Keep persevering!"_

_And so, you do._

_You just.. Live._

_For your friends and family._

**_And that's what you're going to keep doing._ **

* * *

You wake up later on with a start, jolting yourself awake. You sit up, cleaning up for the day, changing into your robes, and eating the pie Toriel has given you overnight.

Just a normal day in the Ruins ahead of you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaah whoops. Dad forgot to pay the cable bill and instead bought a new TV.
> 
> My bad, you guys..


	5. Snowy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowey does an unnecessary thing, and Toriel sends you out of the ruins to protect you.
> 
> Other things happen.
> 
> (*I can't always spoil you, y'know.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry i left for a while. At least it wasn't on a cliffhanger >.> Been busy with everything, and this kinda got left behind.

After you woke up, you went into the living room, greeted Toriel, and did a few small chores around the house. Toriel greatly appreciates the help, and packs you a lunch while you wash a few leftover dishes. She packages some more pie, a salad, and a few monster candies as you put them away.

".._, I feel like this may be a strange thing to ask of you, but.." She starts, and you turn off the faucet and turn to her, plate still in hand. She winds up a small music box and a soothing tune emanates from it. You've never heard it, but it feels familiar somehow.

"I was wondering if you could use magic, and I thought I could try and teach you how to use it properly if so," She says. It startles you, since you hadn't even thought about it. Toriel, Flowey, and many other monsters in the Ruins use magic for recreation and battles. Froggits tend to communicate by collecting flies into readable text once they figured out you couldn't understand them, since they can only ribbit, and Whimsuns use magical moth summons to collect things. Toriel uses fire magic for her cooking, and she has so much control it's nearly unbelievable... You wonder what kind of magic you have. Would you throw kittens at people??

"_? Are you alright?" Toriel says, putting a hand on your shoulder. You snap out of your thought process to try and form words.

"Yeah, i'm fine. Spaced out. Um.. I don't know if i have magic. I've never tried to use it, honestly," You say.

"Well then. You have helped so much for me to catch up on the work that has needed to be done here, so I suppose we can take a break today to figure out your magic." She replies, and you look up at her with what must be stars in your eyes.

"Does that mean I don't have to do the dishes today?"

"..No, you will still have to do them later on, my child," She chuckles out. You slump and groan a little bit. You don't like water very much. You never learned to swim, and you have fallen into the river multiple times in deeper sections and panicked. Being half cat may also be an issue. You nod sadly and look back up again, back straight. "Alright, now go get some shoes and some more flexible clothes. That robe is far too big for you still."

You do so, selecting some shorts that go down to your knees and a purple tank top. You grab a pair of shoes and a ponytail, going to Toriel to have her teach you how to put these things on, since you never learned. She chuckles and fixes your hair. She brushes it for you, explains how you need to take a bath later (At your large resentment) and puts it on, showing you with a mirror. She ties your shoes and you carefully memorise it, before you both head into a hallway you're familiar with. It's the large empty room from before, when you first got your phone. Speaking of which, you pull it out of your pocket and see you have a message.

You've recently created an account on something called the Undernet, and have actually gotten a few random people following you. NAPSTABLOOK22 sent you a friend request. You tap accept, and shut it off, putting it somewhere will it won't be damaged if something happens.

"My child, are you ready? You will need to focus." You nod and walk over to the middle of the room, facing Toriel. The usual battle screen doesn't show up, and you assume it's because you need to learn how to summon your magic first.

"Ready, mom. ..What do I do first?" You ask. Toriel focuses a moment and a fireball appears in her hand. It's a very pale purple, almost white. It's really cool looking, actually. The purple may be because it's slightly transparent.

"Focus on what you want to do. Think of something appearing on the ground in front of you. Make something appear," She says, and you get into a battle type stance. You focus as told, imagining something growing out of the ground.

It wasn't your imagination.

"HOWDY!!"

Gosh darnit, Flowey.

"..Howdy," you say, countering the (for some reason) scream that Flowey emitted. Toriel looks between you and Flowey, confused.

(*I.. Have about as much explanation for this as reasons why pigs can fly.)

There's that voice again! You aren't going crazy, are you? You hope not and deal with the current situation.

"..So. Trying to learn magic, right? Y'know, I can help you! Come with me!" Flowey says, suddenly grabbing your body with a vine, turning you sideways, and cutting through the ground to escape the startled and angry goat mom. You jump for a moment, but seeing as you can't move, you just let this happen.

And then Toriel hits Flowey with a fireball and sends the both of you flying.

"_, the door! I'll get you soon. Hurry!" Toriel screams. You know you aren't in danger, but Toriel throws you your phone. You take it and run the other way, just so you don't upset her. You're confused as to why Flowey just attempted to kidnap you, but you don't reaaallly wanna find out. You bolt down the stairs of your home, grabbing the leftover plate of pie that was on the floor.

(*Toriel, for being such a neat freak, seems to like putting plates of pie on the floor.)

You ignore the voice and unlock the door, and you hear the familiar crackle of flames. You hope both of them are safe, but you aren't in a position to do much. You know Toriel doesn't like Flowey one bit, and they often break into battles whenever they see each other. This is one of those times, you assume. Your tail struggles to keep itself still as the extreme cold hits you. You hear the door lock behind you, and you startle, bolting. You don't stop until you come across.. Uh..?

It's a tall, living skeleton, wearing a "Cool Dude" shirt, working on a bridge or gate of some sort. Your tail flicks in confusion, and it looks down at you. Yes, it's taller than you, but you don't really know by how much. It puts down it's building supplies and crosses over it, looking ready to greet you.

"HELLO THERE! I DO NOT BELIEVE WE HAVE MET. I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!! ..ARE YOU A HUMAN?" It- He, you note, yells, making your ears fold back. You don't really know what to say, but he looks at you, excitedly and expectantly. You shake your head no, and he deflates ever so slightly, before getting excited again. You wish you had this guy's energy.

"OH. WELL, THAT IS ALRIGHT! THAT MEANS YOU ARE EITHER A MONSTER OR A ROCK. BUT ROCKS ALSO TEND TO BE MONSTERS, TOO.. NYEH, THIS IS TOO CONFUSING. WHAT IS YOUR NAME, NEW NOT-HUMAN FRIEND!?" He says, and you flinch at the loud voice again. That may take getting used to.

"My name is _, it's nice to meet you, um.. The great Papyrus, right?" You ask, and he nods excitedly. He looks proud and looks around.

"WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO TAKE YOU OVER THE BRIDGE? THE GAP MAY BE TOO FAR FOR YOU TO JUMP OVER, BUT THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN!!" ..Yeah, that's how he even got over here. You look around and agree, seeing as there really isn't any reason not to trust him. He immediately picks you up, carrying you under his arm, before leaping across the chasm. It looks really deep... Why is he just now building a bridge?? He sets you down and you look back up at him. You thought you and Toriel were tall, but Papyrus is just ridiculous.

"THERE WE GO, _! IF YOU'RE LOST, SNOWDIN IS THAT WAY. I WOULD ESCORT YOU, BUT THIS BRIDGE IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE!! I WILL GIVE YOU A TOUR ONCE I AM DONE. SEE YOU LATER!!!" He yells, and you wave goodbye before walking off in the direction he pointed. You definitely chose the wrong clothes for today. You huff, rubbing your hands over your arms- They're actually really fuzzy. You look one over and see a black fuzz over it, white on your hand. You seem to be growing fur. ..That will probably be useful if you get stuck here for too long.

You do end up getting lost, taking a few turns you shouldn't have and ending up in dead ends. You have to eat the pie frozen once your stomach begs for you to, but you eventually make it to a jolly town called Snowdin. ..You mean, it's really jolly. It screams "Christmas!!" at every turn. It's kinda nice.

You see a man rush out the door of a house in a lab coat, carrying a briefcase. You aren't sure why he's in such a rush, but you don't stop and pry. You look at a restaurant called Grillby's, the cold starting to get to you, before going inside. Monsters are extremely abundant, and you presume that the LIVING FLAME behind the bar is the owner. You don't know why you assume that, maybe it's the.. Other skeleton monster talking to him and calling him Grillby.

Also, you just noticed, it's way warmer in here. Your shivering has stopped almost entirely, and the jukebox seems to be playing a jazzy, upbeat song. You spot the only spare seat is by the other skeleton at the bar; Even though you only came in to warm up, you're kind of hungry again. You check your pockets to look for some money, only to find you have about 35 gold from your allowance, and from random monster encounters. Hopefully you have enough. You walk up to the bar, and Grillby nods at you.

"Um.. I've never been here before. What do you have?" You ask, as politely as you can. The skeleton looks over at you, thinking either "I know you" or "You're crazy." ..Probably the latter. 

"..Burgers and fries. Both are 10 gold each," The fire man says. You nod and pull out 10 gold.

"Could i have some fries, please?" You ask. He nods and goes into the back. The skeleton has been staring at you and making you uncomfortable. Finally, he speaks.

"sup?" He says. ..Just sup. You recognise the voice, and now you're confused. ..Is this the guy that was behind the door?? No, that couldn't be it. You attempt to pull yourself out of your thoughts again to reply. 

"A lot, but i'm still trying to process it myself.." You say. He nods.

"dunno why, i've never seen ya before, but you seem familiar somehow. wonder why.." He says, and you hum.

"Not sure why, but you seem familiar, too. I dunno, everyone here just has a familiar vibe to them, so..." You trail off, too, as Grillby(?) brings you your food. You pull out an extra gold coin or two and hand it to him, smiling. He perks up and thanks you. The skeleton looks over at you after Grillby goes off to take another order.

"welp, guess i should probably introduce myself. the name's sans. sans the skeleton," He says. You turn to face him, and he's reaching his hand out. Looks like he's wearing white mittens.

"_. Nice to me- ..Um. Nice to uh.. Meet.. You?" You question your decision to shake his hand after it emits a fart sound.

"ahaha, what's the matter, cat got your tongue?-" You huff a little bit. "-heh, the whoopee cushion in the hand trick. been meaning to try it out," He says, chuckling. You swear you know that laugh... You take a bite of your fries...

This is the best thing to ever grace your mouth. ..Besides Toriel's pie, at least. Best savory thing, you suppose.

"These are really good.. mm.." You shove more food into your mouth, and Grillby looks happy. Sans chuckles some more, before he takes the bottle of ketchup, takes off the lid, and.. Drinks it? Odd. He just drank the entire bottle of ketchup. Is he okay?? Grillby looks over, arms crossed.

"ah, just put it on my tab. ..welp, be seein ya around, kiddo. i got a feelin you'll be hanging around snowdin for a while," He says, waving goodbye. Everyone in the bar bids him goodbye, and you just kinda stare at the door. 

(*You have a lot of questions as to what happened. I cannot answer because plot.)

..Uhm. That flippin voice in your head. Probably crazy. Actually, you're probably both crazy, if you have a crazy voice in your head...

You sigh, shaking your head, before finishing your fries. You thank Grillby and step out into the cold once more. Papyrus is rushing over a long wooden bridge that you don't even remember passing over, with a bunch of tools in his arms. He spots you and (somehow) runs even faster. You get ready to jump out of the way if you need to. He skids to a stop next to you on the snow, nearly falling over.

"HELLO _! I SEE YOU ARE WELL! WOULD YOU LIKE THE TOUR NOW?? I HAVE TO PUT AWAY THESE TOOLS FIRST, HOWEVER. PLEASE EXCUSE ME!!" He says, before bolting off into the same house you saw that man go into, leaving you confused.

Welp.

You have no clue what's going on anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, i don't know what's happening either.

**Author's Note:**

> Ermehgurd you read this to the end I'm actually ecstatic. Please accept this Kudos button as my thanks. Press it whenever. I'ma just sneak this down here...


End file.
